IN CLEAR and unmistakable language, influential Filipino bishops yesterday called on President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to pursue relentlessly the truth behind the Hello Garci controversy and to stop moves to call off elections next year.

The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines said the CBCP had observed a failure of political processes to make public servants accountable, citing the acts of evasion and obstruction in the Virgilio Garcillano wiretapping.

We recommend that the search for truth be relentlessly pursued through structures and processes mandated by law and the Constitution, the bishops said in one of two pastoral statements issued at the close of a three-day plenary in Manilas Pope Pius XII Center.

They did not really pursue the truth, said newly elected CBCP president Angel Lagdameo at a news conference, referring to the killing of the impeachment complaint against Ms Arroyo by her majority allies in the House of Representatives in September last year. They stopped at technicalities.

The impeachment attempt was triggered by the release last June of wiretapped phone conversations purportedly between Garcillano, a former election commissioner, and Ms Arroyo. Opposition politicians said the recordings were evidence Ms Arroyo manipulated the 2004 presidential election.

Saying the President was acknowledging the CBCP statement with humility and an open mind, Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said Ms Arroyo was open to all just and fair means under the law to ferret out the truth surrounding all controversies affecting the presidency.

She wholeheartedly supports the renewal of our public life through moral values, national solidarity, the ascendancy of truth, the welfare of the poor and heroic Christian citizenship, Bunye said.

The CBCP plenary produced two statements -- on renewing our public life through moral values and on mining issues and concerns about claims of massive environmental damage and displacement of indigenous peoples in affected areas.

Said Ipil Bishop Antonio Ledesma, CBCP vice president: It is still a wide open search for truth and we do hope that with some moral orientation, we can really reach the bottom of this problem.

The root of the problem, the 119-member CBCP said, was a crisis of moral values, a crisis of truth and justice, of unity and solidarity for the sake of the common good and genuine peace.

Transactional politics

Truth has become a victim of political partisanship as well as of transactional politics, said the statement read by Archbishop Lagdameo of Jaro, Iloilo, to reporters at the news conference broadcast live by several radio stations. He said the statement was addressed to Ms Arroyo and all Filipinos.

The latest pastoral statement was ostensibly more to the point than the one issued last July at the height of the wiretapping controversy. The CBCP then said that it could not join mounting calls for the Presidents resignation but she should not dismiss those calls altogether.

The Churchs refusal to join the resignation calls and former President Fidel Ramos declaration of support for Ms Arroyo were largely credited for saving her administration last year from its worst political crisis since she came to power following the ouster of President Joseph Estrada.

The CBCP suggested that the search for truth be done through the Ombudsman, Commission on Audit, Commission on Human Rights, Sandiganbayan, Congress and citizens groups.

Need for probity

But it made clear that these bodies must first be led and run by credible people, persons of integrity and probity.

Last month, Ms Arroyos handpicked Consultative Commission recommended the scrapping of the 2007 elections to pave the way for the adoption of a federal-type parliamentary system in 2010.

On this issue, she has locked horns with Ramos who, while supporting the shift to parliamentary system to provide Ms Arroyo with a graceful exit amid a cloud of doubt over her legitimacy, has insisted that the balloting next year should proceed as scheduled.

Elections in 2007 should not be cancelled, the four-page CBCP statement said. But it said confidence and trust in our political processes have to be restored.

As a first step, we strongly urge our political leaders to undertake electoral reforms posthaste. The Commission on Elections has to be transformed into a competent and reliable body beyond reproach, the CBCP said.

Comelec resignation calls

The call for resignation or even prosecution of a number of the commissioners should not be lightly brushed aside. The electoral process, including the counting of votes, needs to be reformed and modernized before the next elections, it said.

Comelec Chair Benjamin Abalos has rejected calls for his resignation, including one made recently by Senator Joker Arroyos blue ribbon committee over shenanigans in the commissions automation program.

Abalos has insisted he could only be removed through impeachment as provided for in the Constitution.

The CBCP agreed that certain aspects of the Constitution probably needed revision. But any changes, it said, should be made only after widespread discussion and participation among all stakeholders.

This is best done through a Constitutional Convention, it said. The reasons for constitutional change must be based on the common good rather than on self-serving interests or the interests of political dynasties.

Asked what action the Church would take if the President ignored the CBCPs calls, Lagdameo said: We will cross the bridge when we get there.

Coups denounced

In resolving the political crisis, the bishops reiterated their call against any form of violence or counter-constitutional means. These measures would only bring about new forms of injustice, more hardships and greater harm in the future, they said.

Bunye said Malacañang was committed to implementing electoral reforms through concrete programs, appointments to the Comelec of people beyond reproach and "stern enforcement of the rules of suffrage.

He said the Palace supported full participation in all aspects of Charter change, transparency and relative serenity that allows for rational discussion and debate.

Comments

the CBCP continues to guide the Catholics and the faithful, and their apolitical stance is commendable.

it is only right that the search for truth be pursued while going beyond the politics, while also looking into the motives and the credibility of those who claim to be in search of it.

but while we continue to search for truth and the morally right, let us not forget to express gratitude for the blessings that our country has been receiving and continue to strive to make the most out of it. we are blessed to have an improving economy despite all the political turmoil.

well i dont miss cardinal sin at a time everyone is saying something bad about our leaders. we give him too much credit, when we should have already learned our mistakes of the past. its like goin around in circles, shooting bullets in the air, finding the truth for people who just need it to advance their own perverted and self serving agendas.

the middleclass is silent. its very clear why and some people are just so stupid(hello media giants?) not to acknowledge the the writings on the wall...today everyone wants to be the victor and throw stones at their imagined "enemy" but when you look at it carefully its them who created this socalled monster. and guess what?

any morally upright person would adhere to the truth. we should never stop searching and striving for the ideal. but we have to be able to tell the difference between a legitimate search for truth or an ambition in disguise.we could achieve and know the truth as long as the search for it isn't tainted with politics and sheer ambition.

well i dont miss cardinal sin at a time everyone is saying something bad about our leaders. we give him too much credit, when we should have already learned our mistakes of the past. its like goin around in circles, shooting bullets in the air, finding the truth for people who just need it to advance their own perverted and self serving agendas.

the middleclass is silent. its very clear why and some people are just so stupid(hello media giants?) not to acknowledge the the writings on the wall...today everyone wants to be the victor and throw stones at their imagined "enemy" but when you look at it carefully its them who created this socalled monster. and guess what?

they want a new one? :glee:

If you're referring to the lynch-mob mentality of the media that blew this cheating issue way out of proportion, then I throughly agree. They simply ignored certain circumstances that point to a fair and square Arroyo win, instead focusing on and sensationalizing the derogatory comments of opposition politicians.

The truth should advance the interests of the people and not those alone who have perverted and self-serving agendas. We must show the world that the rule of law, and not any unconstitutional measure, is upheld in this issue. Thus only can the economy benefit from its resolution.

CBCP stated that they think GMA should be given more chance to redeem herself. this, imo, is in accordance to the teachings of the Catholic Church, and not for any political purpose. the CBCP remains apolitical while continuing to give guidance to the Catholics and the Filipino people.

^^^^^^ CBCP remains apolitical !!!!!! ..... hahahahahahahahahaha... tell that to the marines ....... hehehehe ..... those bishops ....... they never learned ....... GMA was their doing ....... Cory was their doing ...... they slept with marcos 3/4 of martial law time ...... and they are apolitical .....hahahaha ..... (sin might raise up fom his grave and might say "what apolitical?") ....